Lenovo K6 quick review – the K lineup is trendy once again

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In the beginning of 2016 Lenovo revealed its K5 lineup and its several representatives, the company made haste to announce their official successors – part of the K6 series. This happened at the IFA 2016 technological exhibition in Berlin. Some time ago we received the Lenovo K6 and we would like to put it to the test and acquaint you with its capabilities.

The improvements in K6 over its predecessor K5 seem many enough despite that the models have only 6 months in between. Nonetheless, a specs sheet cannot be a good enough reason to say that the new smartphone is worth it but it gives good premises.

If you happen to show interest in the Lenovo K6, you could check its current price and availability here: http://amzn.to/2l457hx

Contents

Design and Construction

K6’s design features a metal body the back panel of which is not removable. We can also notice that, in comparison to its predecessor, the model now has more rounded corners and edges, resembling the latest iPhone’s design. You could hardly notice fingerprints on the phone’s body but the smooth surface and rounded corners make it a bit slippery. The good news, however, is that it’s a 5-inch smartphone so holding it in a single hand is comfortable and safe enough. Along with the silver and gold colors we saw in K5, now there is a new color option – dark gray. Other than that, thickness and weight remain almost unchanged – 8.2 mm and 140 grams.

A welcomed novelty here is the fingerprint scanner. It is round and is situated on the smartphone’s back exactly below the main camera and its LED flash. Above them you will only find the secondary mic which is there for background noise cancellation. On the same side’s bottom you can also observe a Lenovo inscription accompanied by two loudspeakers. Additionally, there are two parallel plastic lines near the longer ends of the panel which are there to facilitate the operation of antennas. As for the front, there are no surprises. Under the screen (without being part of it) there are the three traditional Android buttons which do not have LED backlighting. The forehead carries an earpiece, front camera, proximity and ambient light sensors as well as LED notification indicator.

As it was already made clear, the back is not removable just as in K5. On the left, however, you will find a small tray for the available slots. In our case we find only one nanoSIM card slot and a microSD card slot. In the dualSIM card version the second slot is shared with that of the microSD card. On the left, you can find the volume controls and Power button a bit lower down. We consider them as rather comfortable to use which is facilitated by the fact that they are slightly protruding. The top holds a microUSB port and headphones jack, while the base carries the integrated microphone.

Display and Sound

Lenovo K6 comes with a 5-inch display with a Full HD resolution (1920 х 1080 pixels). This ensures pixel density of 441 ppi, which means high image detail. The screen can be considered as Retina, if you are looking at it at 20 cm, which is reasonable for reading. Undoubtedly, such image detail is not common for this price range. Apart from this, you get an IPS panel making colors more vibrant and viewing angles – wider.

You can find some interesting modes and options in the Display section of the settings menu. For example, you are presented with a mode that increases color saturation for the purpose of more attractive images. You will also find the Brightness protection mode which is suitable for operation at night. Additionally, this menu lets you choose the type of notifications you want to engage the LED indicator.

Sound

We are presented with the Dolby Atmos audio technology that allows you to enjoy powerful and quality sound coming out of Lenovo К6’s loudspeakers. Along with it you get the Dolby app which features various sound modes for the best possible audio experience in watching movies, gaming, listening to music, etc.

Battery

The battery has also been increased to 3000mAh. We should not forget, though, that we are now dealing with a Full HD display, which means higher energy consumption. Despite this, we expect relatively good results as the ones of Lenovo K5. Once again, we tested this battery unit in five different tests – a phone call, Wi-Fi and 3G Web browsing, video playback and 3D gaming. The settings we used were the usual – screen brightness of 120 cd/m2, Wi-Fi module turned on, 3G turned off (with the exception of the 3G Web browsing test), Bluetooth and GPS

Modes

Apart from the standard Battery saver, which reduces screen brightness and restricts vibration, increasing battery life, you will also find the Ultimate Power Saver mode. Brightness is decreased here and the wallpaper becomes dark, leaving only basic functions available to the user.

A couple of Some of Android 6.0 Marshmallow novelties them are the new apps layout, which you have to scroll down and there is a particular algorithm which puts the four most frequently used apps on top. Also present is a submenu called “Memory” that allows you to control the RAM. Also available are smart apps control, which saves battery life, a “Do not disturb” option in the drop-down menu, and others.

Applications

In comparison to other Lenovo models, you won’t find that many pre-installed apps here. Along with the standard Google set of apps, you are provided with a few other apps including a file explorer, SHAREit for data transfer between devices and SYNCit for synchronization with a cloud service or a microSD card. Additionally, you get Theme Center offering many options for visual changes of the UI – menus, icons, wallpapers, etc. Also present is Lenovo Companion which allows diagnostics of your smartphone’s components, solutions to FAQs, informational videos, and updates.

Settings menu

This time the settings menu has the traditional Android platform layout, and all available options can be found in the image below.

Functions

By double-pressing one of the volume controls you can take a quick snap even when your screen is locked. If you double-tap, you can turn the display on, and long-pressing the Home button allows you to turn the flashlight on, while pressing the fingerprint scanner to take a shot. You can also select to have your ringtone silenced in incoming call when you grab the phone in your hand.

There is also a floating button ensuring shortcuts to frequently used apps and features – that’s something we have already seen in other Lenovo models. It’s a button whose size, transparency and position along the screen’s length can be determined by yourself. Depending on whether you long press it, tap once or twice, it can perform different functions such as lock phone, return to homescreen, open certain apps, etc.

Another curious feature is the option of creating modes. For example, we can create an “Office” mode and set period of activity and accessible features. You could also determine an active period of night eye protection within this mode or to have only one SIM card operating, an automatic GPS launc and more. In the same way you could create other modes for when you’re driving or at home.

We are presented with another interesting mode called “VR Mode Switch”, dividing screen content as a preparation for the use of a VR headset.

Accessibility

You are also provided with an “Accessibility” submenu that includes options for ease of use, chiefly meant for people with health problems.

Performance

Snapdragon 430 hit the market in the second half of 2015. Lenovo K6 is the first device with this chipset that we have tested. Snapdragon 430 is a 64-bit mobile processor built on the 28nm process technology. The CPU has eight Cortex-A53 cores with a maximum frequency of 1.4GHz. It’s specs include Full HD display support, up to 21MP camera sensors with up to Full HD video capturing (30fps), Quick Charge 3.0 technology for faster recharging ( 38% more effective than Quick Charge 2.0), Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC and LTE Cat 4 with download speeds of up to 150Mbps. The chip also includes the Adreno 505 graphics card which brings a major step up in graphics capabilities compared to its predecessor.

CPU

Geekbench 3.0 is Primate Labs cross-platform processor benchmark which simulates real-world scenarios and gives a combined score, based on the results of integer, floating point and memory performance.

GPU

The T-Rex 2.7 test is based on ES 2.0/GL 3.0 and includes highly detailed textures, materials, complex geometry, particles with animated textures and a post-process motion blur effect. The graphics pipeline also features planar reflections, specular highlights and soft-shadows.

In this test, 3DMark’s Unlimited engine uses a fixed frame interval and renders exactly the same frames in every run on every device. The frames are rendered in 720p "offscreen" while the display is updated with small frame thumbnails every 100 frames to indicate progress.

Temperatures and Convenience

As we already mentioned, we are testing a Snapdragon 430-powered smartphone for the first time. This is namely why we conducted our temperature test with great interest – several hours of 3D gaming simulated with the help of the Epic Citadel app. Immediately after it we measure the maximum temps in three different sections of the device’s back. In Lenovo K6’s case the camera area was the hottest – 34.3 degrees Celsius. As you may guess, this is not at all a bothering value especially since it’s a maximum one. Also, the other two sections demonstrated similar values and we can conclude that this model has no temperature problems, no matter how you load it.

Camera

Lenovo K6 comes with a 13MP main camera with autofocus and LED flash. Among its settings you will find Full HD video recording, and its modes offer a Pro mode allowing you to adjust white balance, exposure, shutter speed and other. Also present are an Art Nightscape mode that has several options for shooting in low light, and Panorama, Artistic HDR plus slow-mo or time-lapse video recording. Additionally, there is a special Smart function developed in partnership with some of the best photographers in the world. It gives tips for achieving perfect composition and awesome picture.

The front part carries an 8MP camera with a Beauty function for smoothing out blemishes, self-timer and gesture control.

Settings

Modes

Shots

Video

You can record Full HD videos, and you could also use software image stabilization. The first video below is without, and the second one with it.

Verdict

Lenovo K6 offers noticeable changes over its predecessor, although they are only a few months apart. Improvements are seen in the design section which is again represented by a metal construction but this time with rounded corners and edges, making it look a tad more elegant. Another pleasant addition is the fingerprint scanner, which has turned into a must have for a mid-range device. Additionally, there’s been a bump in the display resolution – from HD to Full HD, which is not that big of a difference for our eye but again you are provided with higher image detail.

Also, the available SoC is the octa-core Snapdragon 430 which may not be the fastest chip out there but will ensure smooth operation, which is also facilitated by 2GB of RAM. What’s more, the chip is not prone to causing whatever overheating issues even after a continuous workload. Despite the fact that it supports technologies such as Quick Charge 3.0, NFC and Wi-Fi 802.11ac, they are not part of the model’s specifications. Nonetheless, Lenovo K6 is one of the best representatives of its price range and is definitely not a bad choice for a new smartphone.

If you happen to show interest in the Lenovo K6, you could check its current price and availability here: http://amzn.to/2l457hx

Pros

Convenient, lightweight and decent metal design

Fingerprint scanner

5-inch IPS display with Full HD resolution and additional features

Stereo loudspeakers with Dolby Atmos technology

Android 6.0 Marshmallow and UI with useful features

Reasonable exterior temperatures after stress test

Cons

Lack of Quick Charge 3.0, NFC and Wi-Fi 802.11ac, despite the fact that the SoC supports them